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Wednesday, 24 April 2013

CSI 10 k: My first race as a preggy mama

A foul weather forecast almost made me skip this race - so glad the weatherman was wrong! It turned out to be a perfect day for running: Cool, but not cold; and cloudy, but not rainy. Yay!I had two and only two goals for the CSI 10 k: To take things super easy; and to finish with no niggles or pain, ready to continue running for the most part (or all) of this pregnancy. With these goals in mind, I set off slower than usual and tried to stick to that pace religiously. [Side note: I never check my watch during a race (to me the miles just go by far too slowly that way), so I usually try to gauge my pace on how I feel.] I just had to giggle when I saw my pace chart after the race: Steady as a metronome, even up the hills, ha! Note to self: Next time ease up on the hills!

Route profile. Click to enlarge.

One thing that really shocked and disappointed me during this race, was to see how impatient and aggressive some motorists are at 06:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning - surely that's not normal, right? I actually witnessed two separate incidents where motorists felt obliged to stop their cars, get out (one stayed seated), and shout and swear at the poor traffic officials who were regulating traffic for us runners to pass. Wow. No wonder our roads are in such a state. Count to ten, people. Just count to ten.

Running on the sidewalk to avoid crazy motorists.

I finished in 1:02 - nice and comfortable, with no lingering niggles or pain. Mission accomplished! I definitely felt my knees and joints for a while after the race, though, so for now I don't think I'll be running more than 10 km at a time until after Baby Junior's birth. My body has spoken and I'm listening.I just have to end off by giving kudos to Bloemfontein Achilles for a very well organized race: From the (small) race expo and the electronic timing system, to the race photographer and the well-stocked water points - everything was taken care of in a professional and effective manner. Much appreciated.

Electronic timing system. VERY fancy for our neck of the woods.

Oh, and Baby Girl also gives the jumping castle at the finish line a big thumbs up!

I've been MIA for a bit and am really behind. Congratulations on the pregnancy!!!! And wow on the drivers! I know they get impatient here but I've never seen anyone cuss the people directing traffic. So, so sad...